Hi all,
a design/construction and procedural question for the gurus out there please. A quick recap on what we do : supply and distribution to retail & wholesale establishments of fresh whole produce (in Zambia) . We haven't been involved in the Food safety aspect for long - 2 years really, and are learning everything from scratch.
We have built a brand new packshed from scratch (ouch!) and so far so good. I want to start a high care section for cut/RTE foods, but given the cost of building etc I really need to get it right on the first go. We already have an existing room that isn't being used so I'm incorporating that, extending it out of the general facility.
I haven't been able to find enough detailed/satisfactory information for all my questions, but I will summarize my plans at the moment, grateful if anyone could suggest something I might be overlooking (we are going to attempt FSSC 22000 next year )
1. Complete segregation (physical & colour code etc) of all equipment, utensils etc
2. Separate outer garment change room/hand sanitation on entry to High care (this will be separated from the H.C working area by strip curtaining)
3. Produce wash/sanitise basins (in addition to the post harvest wash on arrival)
4. Sloped flooring and drainage (is there any requirement for tiled floors? seems like more of a hazard to me)
5. Cooling units that can (should be able to) reach 5 degrees Celcius - also I'm not really sure what the temp should be considering staff will be in there for relatively extended periods???
6. High care storage (post packaging) - this will be another section of the same room, also separated from general work area by strip curtaining, also with its own cooling unit
7. The flow would basically be :
-staff enter and exit by one door, having to change protective clothing in that area. This door leads out into our general facility .
- produce enters through same staff entrance, gets processed, goes into storage area. The storage area is then accessible from a second door which leads into the cool dock/ dispatch bay .
I'm not sure I have my produce exit point quite right, as in theory it will be accessed by personnel who have not gone through the "high care change over" , but it will be packaged and sealed at that point, so ...... ?
Grateful for any additions to this, and may the Food Safety Fairy be with you always! :)